Five species of Salmon – Chum, Chinook (AKA King Salmon), Coho, Pink, and Sockeye – are found in the waters off Washington, Oregon and California. All five species spawn in freshwater, spend part of their life in the ocean and then return to freshwater to spawn. Sexual maturity is reached between two to seven years of age and salmon spawn thousands of eggs during a spawning event, but die afterwards.

Management of U.S. West Coast (California to Washington) salmon is comprehensive and catches are monitored to protect weak populations. However, overall population abundance remains well below historical levels and many populations remain on the endangered species list. Habitat degradation from dams, logging, and development pose serious problems for most salmon on the West Coast.

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Fish Key:

Species has a combination of problems such as overfishing, high bycatch, and poor management.

Some problems exist with this species' status or catch methods, or information is insufficient for evaluating.

Species is relatively abundant, and fishing methods cause little damage to habitat and other wildlife.

A fishery targeting this species has been certified as sustainable and well managed to the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standard. Learn more at http://www.msc.org.

These fish contain levels of mercury or PCBs that may pose a health risk to adults and children. Our source of information is http://seafood.edf.org/. We also recommend that you check local advisories.